In response to “beating students” a mass People’s Veche gathered on Maidan. There appeared such a term as “Theyarejustchildren”. The emphasis of the protest shifted from the demand of signing the Agreement on the Association with the EU to the demand of resignation of the government and the President. Among the protesters there appeared a split into radicals and the “moderate”. The representative of the latter (at that time) Yatsenyuk announced the demands of resignation of the acting government and re-elections of the President and the Supreme Rada of Ukraine. Other, more radical forces of Maidan went for more decisive actions. During the day there were seized the buildings of the City Hall and the Trade Unions House and a group of protesters tried to break through into the building of the Administration of the President, slashing unarmed guards with chains, throwing paving stones at them and ramming a grader into their ranks for 5 hours.

The representative of the Right Sector Andrey Tarasenko stated that they had for a goal not the accession to Europe but the national revolution the beginning of which was also announced by Yury Lutsenko who added that the opposition was ready to set specially trained squads against the police. There was created the Maidan Self-Defence under the leadership of Andrey Paruby. The protesters started to build barricades on Maidan.

The protesters blocked the entrances to the building of the Government of Ukraine and didn’t let the government of N. Azarov in to work.

In the Supreme Rada there was submitted a bill ‘On the responsibility of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine’ (by A. Yatsenyuk, V. Klitschko, O. Tyagnibok) proposing an impeachment to the Cabinet ‘due to the government’s betrayal of the national interests of the state’. The bill didn’t receive a sufficient number of votes.

The Head of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Germany Guido Westerwelle arrived in Kiev where he visited the protesters’ camp on the Square of Independence and met V. Klitschko and A. Yatsenyuk.

Another People’s Veche took place in Kiev; afterwards they gathered there every Sunday. The first EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Vice President of the European Commission Cathrin Ashton arrived in Kiev where she had negotiations with the President Victor Yanukovich bringing to him a viewpoint of the united Europe on the necessity of solving all problems in a peaceful way. The deputy US State Secretary Victoria Nuland also visited Kiev. The Berkut tried to assault the Kiev City Hall. Those who had seized it showered them from water hoses and it was the first time when from the building there were heard shots at the policemen. Not having received an order for more decisive actions the Berkut retreated. In the evening a group of radical young men started a clash with the policemen guarding the Lenin monument situated at the beginning of the Shetchenko boulevard. The clash instantly attracted a crowd of Maidan supporters infuriated by another “beating of children”. The police removed the cordon and the raging crowd pulled down and broke the monument into pieces. Later in the Internet there were offers of such “souvenirs” for a moderate price of 50 hryvnas. In the end of the day Victor Yanukovich invited the opposition to a round table to negotiate.

The deputy US State Secretary Victoria Nuland and the US ambassador in Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt arrived at Maidan and had a meeting with the opposition in the Trade Unions House where there was already situated the resistance Headquarters.

The authorities of Ukraine made the first attempt to clear Maidan out. The soldiers of the special unit Berkut cut off the protesters from the City Hall. Guarded by the soldiers the utility services started to dismantle the barricades near the Central Department Store and the Trade Unions House. Before the assault on Maidan there were no more than a thousand activists left but 2 hours after the attack the number of them increased up to about 3 thousands. The majority of newcomers stayed along the perimeter watching what’s was going on. The Berkut partly dismantled the line of barricades in Institutskaya street, totally dismantled the barricade looking to the European square and pushed about 500 of the most active protesters to the stage. It was said from the stage of Maidan that the representatives of the EU in Ukraine headed by Cathrin Ashton were trying to get in contact with the law enforcement agencies in order to prevent a forceful dispersal of Maidan. The soldiers of the police special forces retreated from the building of the City Hall and started to regroup. The police pressure was suspended on the whole territory around Maidan. The next morning Victoria Nuland visited Maidan; she gave around bread and cookies there.

A bill on amnesty for all participants of mass protests passed in the Supreme Rada. There was created the People’s Union Maidan co-chaired by O. Tyagnibok, S. Kvit, V. Klitschko, Y. Lutsenko, R. Lyzhichko, Y. Timoshenko and A. Yatsenyuk. There was finally formed the movement Automaidan that had for a goal catching suspicious well-built young men (“titushki”) in the streets of Kiev and organising car pickets at residences of the authorities. Thus the violence was brought out of the centre of the capital.

The US senator John McCain made a speech from the stage of Maidan for Ukrainians gathered there for another People’s Veche. McCain encouraged Eurointegration supporters on behalf of the USA.

A People’s Veche took place on Maidan every Sunday but due to the opposition not having a clear programme of actions as well as in anticipation of and during New year and Christmas holidays fewer and fewer people gathered there. Only those who came from the Western, mostly, regions and local homeless stayed in the tent camp permanently.